Wireless communication systems typically comprise one or more radio access networks (RANs) that define one or more wireless coverage areas. Each wireless coverage area may be defined by a RAN radiating on a particular carrier frequency. Furthermore, a single wireless coverage area may serve multiple wireless communication devices (WCDs) through the use of time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA) techniques. Thus, the RAN may facilitate communication between WCDs and other networked entities by providing shared wireless air interface access to the WCDs via the wireless coverage areas.
However, total combined data rate available to all WCDs sharing a particular carrier frequency is limited. Typically, a larger number of WCDs can be supported on the carrier frequency if the WCDs are granted, on average, a lower bit rate. Conversely, if the number of WCDs sharing the carrier frequency is lower, each WCD can be granted, on average, a higher bit rate.
In order to support more WCDs per RAN without necessarily reducing the average bit rate available to these WCDs, the RAN can define multiple spatially overlapping wireless coverage areas, each defined by a different carrier frequency. Through the principle of frequency division multiplexing, so long as each carrier frequency is adequately spaced from adjacent carrier frequencies, WCDs can simultaneously communicate with the RAN on these different carrier frequencies without interference.
However, in order to take advantage of the additional capacity that such a system affords, WCDs should be assigned to these wireless coverage areas in such a way that the overall communication loads across the carrier frequencies are reasonably balanced. One method of doing so is to balance the number of WCDs across the carrier frequencies. However, this method may not always result in efficient utilization of the capacity of the wireless communication system.